Five Times Alexis saw Kate in her Pyjamas
by boutondor
Summary: Title says it all. For carolune04's birthday.


**Title:** Five Times Alexis Castle saw Kate Beckett in her Pyjamas  
**Author:** Cat  
**Rating:** T  
**Fandom:** Castle  
**Pairing:** Castle/Beckett  
**Summary:** Title says it all. For **carolune04**.  
**Spoilers:** 2x18:...Boom!.  
**Beta:** **fading_ripples** -- Thanks for editing this little thing :)  
**Dislcaimer:** All characters were borrowed for non-lucrative purposes.

~o~

_01._

The first time Kate Beckett stayed overnight at their house was when Beckett's apartment blew up.

Alexis had felt lonely as it had also been the first day Gram had moved out. The detective and her dad had brought take-out, and the three of them had dinner together, chatting and laughing. For the first time in her life, Alexis had a strange, fantasy-like feeling that she was part of a traditional family. Every time she saw Beckett in her home after that evening, she kept wondering what it would be like to have her as a step-mother.

She didn't tell anyone else about this. Those kind of nuclear family fantasies were for children, not 16 year-olds.

~o~

_02._

The second time, a few months later, happened to be for babysitting duties.

Neither her father, Beckett or even Gram had dared call it that, but Alexis had been plainly aware that was the purpose of the detective's stay. Gram had gone on a ski trip with Chet and her dad was on a promotion tour for the second Nikki Heat novel. Rick Castle, as cool a dad as he was, was not comfortable leaving his 16 year-old daughter alone for over a week, and had enlisted the help of the best cop in the city.

They spent the nine days they had together watching chick flicks, eating junk food and gossiping about boys. They also spent a fair amount of time practicing some kick-ass karate and self-defense moves. Alexis did not tell her father that she had learned how to chop someone's head off with her foot. She wasn't sure he would like that.

~o~

_03._

The third time Kate stayed overnight, her visit lasted almost two months.

A bullet had been shot in her stomach, grazing vital organs. It took eleven hours of surgery, a week in intensive care, two more in the surgery ward and finally seven at the Castle place for Beckett to make a full recovery. Alexis had never seen her father worry so much about someone other than herself before.

That's when she realized that her nuclear family fantasies may not be that far off.

~o~

_04._

The fourth time Kate spent the night at Castle's "castle" (as her father liked to call it), she was taking care of her father instead of the other way around.

When Alexis was eleven years old, her father had caught pneumonia. Riding a horse naked in Central Park hadn't been a good idea. She had been worried about it then, but now she was perfectly aware that he would make a full recovery, especially because it wasn't as bad this time. So she spent the time her father was sick watching Beckett nurse her father in her own way, which mostly involved scolding and yelling.

Alexis didn't miss the look of concern Beckett had in her eyes whenever her father wasn't looking.

~o~

_05._

The fifth time Katherine Beckett spent the night at the apartment was two years after the first time. It was also the night before Alexis was leaving for college.

Excited and anxious about the new experience, Alexis had woken up really early. Tiptoeing down the stairs, making sure she wouldn't wake anyone, she was also unnoticed by the pair standing in the kitchen, half-dressed. Kate had her arms wrapped around her dad's neck and her father was softly trailing kisses along her jaw and neck. Alexis smiled and tiptoed back upstairs. She was happy that her father was also going to live a new, exciting experience as she was going off to college.

When the new couple, who pretended not to be one, dropped her off at the airport, Alexis hugged Kate tightly and whispered in her ear: "Thanks for taking care of my dad when I'm gone." Kate stepped back and frowned at her. Alexis just smiled and Kate smiled back once she understood that the young Castle had found out what had happened the night before.

As Alexis waved goodbye to her father and Kate as she stood in line to go through security, she realized that she had grown up too fast to get the nuclear family she had wished for. She got, however, the next best thing: two people who cared about her and cared about each other.

~o~

The End.

~o~


End file.
